THANK YOU
Lazies
Bradso123
T0uchM3
ahmarijah
Kaiseth
Nicholas
Layfon
Alex Highstoke
DeCorian Shepherd
Jared Beckett
Gintoki Sakata
Miguel razo
Jawahar S R
Mohvmud
cameron ward
sayat aliev
Jonathan Allatt
lucafinn
For supporting my Patreon or Buymeacoffee
Support me and read advance chapters at my patreon or buymeacoffee
5 Chapters for 1$
10 chapters for 3$
20 chapters for 10$
35 chapters for 20$
50 chapters for 30$
buymeacoffee.com/Shashankbhatt
Patreon.com/Shahsank_bhatt
_________________________
[MEREEN, COURTYARD, DAY]
[DAENERYS paces while XARO watches. KOVARRO sits nearby.]
"He shouldn't make me wait."
"You are guests in their home. They may make you wait if they so choose" Oberyn said kindly.
"It's not proper to do so" Daenerys countered.
"It is not" Oberyn smiled.
"The Spice King is the second wealthiest man in Qarth. He makes everyone wait. Of course, you could have avoided this embarrassment if you married the wealthiest man in Qarth."
"I already have a husband."
"A dead husband" Oberyn pointed out.
"A dead husband" Daenerys agreed.
"Khal Drogo is gone, Khaleesi. You are far too young to be a widow forever and far too beautiful."
"And you are far too smart to think that I will succumb to flattery."
"I have travelled very far in my life and met many women, but none that are immune to flattery."
[The SPICE KING enters, descending a staircase with his entourage.]
"Forgive me. I had terrible dreams last night. Terrible dreams. I could not sleep until the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Look what a beauty you are now the Red Waste has been washed off you. I am sorry about all that unpleasantness. The silver hair of a true Targaryen. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, she is far too lovely for a glorified dockworker like yourself."
[The SPICE KING descends the staircase.]
"Very true, and yet they say that your grandfather, who sold pepper off the back of a wagon, married a lady far lovelier and higher born than himself."
"Do you think he's related to House Spicer somehow?" Tyrion asked his brother, who only nodded in reply. With a frown, he turned to his mother, who shrugged as well.
That question was not for her.
She may know that but chose to ignore it for now.
"Every lady alive was lovelier and higher born than my grandfather. Did my servants not offer you something to eat, to drink? I'll have them flogged in the square."
"Thank you, my lord. You are a gracious host, but there is no servant alive that can bring me what I want."
"Dramatic" Rhaegar playfully rolled his eyes. Their mother used to be dramatic like that from time to time.
"Oh, she has a talent for drama, this one. So, my little princess, what is it you want?"
"My birthright. The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros."
"I fear I'm no better than a servant in this regard. I cannot give you what I do not have."
"I'm not asking you for the kingdoms. I'm asking you for ships."
"I need to cross the Narrow Sea. I need my ships as well. I use them, you see, to bring spices from one port to another."
"Whatever you grant me now will be repaid three times over when I retake the Iron Throne."
"Those are a lot of words, yet none of them are correct" Elia murmured to the girl.
"Why? Is it because I'm a woman?" Daenerys questioned, insulted at the insinuation.
"You're a girl, and that is not why" Elia smiled, "for one you never sat the Iron Throne, hence there is no retaking it."
"My father sat on it."
"And once upon a time the Kingdom had various other thrones that other families sat on. Your ancestor conquered the kingdoms and took those thrones, much like what Robert did."
"That changes nothing. He shouldn't be sitting on the throne at all."
"That changes everything. There was a new conqueror, and his family became the royal family. By right of conquest, much like Aegon I, the throne became his and anyone trying to challenge him would be a rebel if they served under him before, or a foreign enemy if they are from outside."
Daenerys did not look too pleased by that.
"And, you make promises that you might not be able to keep. Nobody will help you based on promises. You must give them something to have something of theirs."
Daenerys' frown grew deeper.
"Let me explain my position, little princess. Unlike you, I do not have exalted ancestors. I make my living by trade. And I judge every trade on its merits. You ask for ships. You say I shall be repaid triple. I do not doubt your honesty or your intentions. But before you repay your debts, you must seize the Seven Kingdoms. Do you have an army?"
"Not yet."
"You do not have an army. Do you have powerful allies in Westeros?"
"There are many there that support my claim."
"Allegedly" Elia added.
"Varys said there are many" Daenerys pointed out.
"He may be right, or he may have some plots. Do not trust blindly."
"I know" Daenerys sighed.
"When were you there last?"
"I left when I was a baby."
"So, in truth, you have no allies."
"The people will rise to fight for their rightful queen when I return."
"They would not" Oberyn whispered to her. "Nobody would fight for a woman to sit the throne, not unless it's Dorne within Dorne. The rest of the Kingdom would not. But then again, you have three dragons, so perhaps they would use you in some way."
"I am not going there to be used" Daenerys hissed.
"Then you better start thinking like a true-blooded player and not a naïve child who believes in words. Words are wind. Your future self may learn this through tough lessons, but you have a chance to learn it without those. Start learning Princess. The world owes you nothing, whatever you want you need to take."
Daenerys shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unable to meet Oberyn's eyes. She looked away and focused solely on the wall.
[HARRENHAL, COUNCIL CHAMBER, DUSK]
[ARYA comes to clean the table. She notices the scroll, which mentions KING ROBB STARK and begins to read it. TYWIN enters, catching her in the act.]
"Who taught you to read?"
"My father, my lord."
"Hmm. I taught my son Jaime to read. The maester came to me one day and told me he wasn't learning. He couldn't make sense of the letters. He reversed them in his head. The maester said he'd heard tell of this affliction and that we simply must accept it."
"I didn't know you had a hard time reading" Tyrion frowned.
"A long time ago" Jaime waived him off. The Knight still remembered those days as if they were just yesterday, those excruciating hours that were worse than getting hit around on the training field.
Joanna eyed her son with a soft gaze. She remembered them too. She had tried to get Tywin to relent on the boy, but the man was anything if not stubborn. She did not regret it when she saw Jaime starting to read properly. Perhaps she should have tried a little harder to feel the regret when she saw the dislike in her son's eyes for his father.
"Ha! After that, I sat Jaime down for four hours every day until he learned. He hated me for it, for a time. For a long time. But he learned. Hmm. Where is your father? Is he alive? Who was he?
"A stonemason."
"An educated stonemason?" Jon snorted, "You need to be a better liar."
"It might be best if she never needs to lie at all" Ned said with amusement, smiling when Jon smiled awkwardly.
"A stonemason who could read? Hmm."
"He taught himself."
"Quite a man. What killed him?"
"Loyalty."
"You're a sharp little thing, aren't you?"
"Did... Forgive me, my lord. I shouldn't ask questions."
"No. But you've already begun."
"Did you know your father, my lord?"
"I did. I grew up with him. I watched him grow old."
Joanna blinked in surprise. Tywin did not talk about his father, no matter who asked him. Yet... yet he was talking about him now, with the Stark girl.
[TYWIN sits. While his back is turned, ARYA steals the scroll that she was reading.]
"He will notice it" Tyrion pointed out.
"Let him" Arya muttered.
"He loved us. He was a good man, but a weak man. A weak man who nearly destroyed our house and name. I'm cold."
"I'll fetch more wood for the fire, my lord."
Tyrion and Jaime looked at the youngest Stark girl. Their father had opened up to the girl, something that was unbelievable and unheard of. Yet... yet it happened. Why? What was so special about her?
"She earned your father's respect" Joanna commented, as if knowing what her sons thought, something she'd pondered over herself before concluding.
"Something neither of us managed" Tyrion muttered, ticked off at the revelation.
Jaime kept his head down, silent and stiff.